Al Arabiya said on its English-language site that the Libyan government had confirmed the reports. The BBC also said the government had confirmed the reports and that Zidan had been taken to an undisclosed location by a group of men who were believed to be former rebels.

The suspect, Nazih Abdul-Hamed Ruqai, better known by the alias Abu Anas al Liby, is wanted in connection with the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa.

Zidan, a former human rights lawyer who spent decades in exile in Geneva, returned to take part in the 2011 revolution that overthrew dictator Moammar Kadafi. He has been prime minister since November 2012.